ELK: Lighting the Path Ahead
Jovanna Fierro was the youth speaker at ELK ‘n Eggs, ELK’s biggest fundraiser of the year. The following speech moved many audience members to tears, and Jovanna received a standing ovation. The ELK Family is incredibly proud of Jovanna, and we can’t wait to see what she does next.
My name is Jovanna Fierro, and I am currently a senior in high school. Thanks to ELK, I am now clear on my future career path. A great part of my identity is being an immigrant. I will be the first in my family to graduate high school, and the first to even have the opportunity to go to college. It is definitely something I am proud of, but growing up, I had so many things that challenged my goals and passion for learning. There were many stereotypes that attempted to hold me down when it came to what I was able to achieve when I grew up. I remember being just 8 years old and people already assuming I would not go to college for the simple reason of being Hispanic. Being Latinx, I had to push myself that much harder to achieve what my classmates could do very easily. This is unfortunately something many students still struggle with around my community, as being part of a minority group comes with many obstacles. Even worse, when the inequality comes from the educational system itself, it creates a false narrative in minorities that we aren’t capable of pursuing our goals because we aren’t good enough.
After seeing and experiencing this, I made the commitment to myself to help my little sister pursue her aspirations with confidence. Since I was young, I’ve been fostering an environment where my sister can explore her identity and unleash her creativity. Being able to do this for my little sister opened my eyes to all the people who I could assist, and what I could really do to impact my community. Advocating for youth, helping them engage in educational activities, and helping to navigate students through challenges, while always trying my best to provide them with the best education possible.
I understand the challenges that many students face in accessing quality education and support. I would love to help break the racial injustice inherent in our educational system to give students pride in who they are while they receive quality education. At the same time, I had restrained myself from joining any sort of community programs or volunteering work due to the fear I had of failure. One day I decided to tag along with another ELK staff member to one of their events where they focused on connecting with people. That was the first day I learned about them and their passion to bring outdoor education to our community. I had never realized that the resource I had been yearning for, the group of people who really understood my passion for education, was just a few blocks away from my home.
From that day forward, I was constantly going to ELK events in order to learn more about this organization and to tag along on their environmental journey. Not only did I do this, but I was also able to build deep connections with a lot of the staff, and other attending students. The way that this organization has welcomed me like no other place is incredible. Prior to my junior year, I had never left my community of Montbello, which is where I currently live, due to, again, my family not having any sort of resources for programs that would allow us to go out camping, hiking, or do any sort of outdoor activity.
As my journey with ELK continued, I fell in love with exploring the outdoors. When I wasn’t tagging along on ELK trips, I would try to improvise and explore beyond my community, even if it was outside of my comfort zone. Slowly, I started to crave any sort of occasion to get out there. When I saw the opportunity of applying for the ELK’s Urban Rangers program, I was overwhelmed by the possibility of combining the ability of being an educator and going into the outdoors. I decided to apply and was successful in achieving a position. Throughout my time working this past summer with ELK, I can’t even put into words how much I loved it. I looked forward to waking up early every morning, ready to go out and work with youth, camp, fish, and even meet land management professionals to learn about a variety of different careers with organizations such as the National Parks Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. It just clicked for me. This is what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.
I’ve had many other opportunities to explore career fields that involve education, but nothing has made me feel so proud. I was proud of wearing those hiking boots every morning. I was proud to call myself an Urban Ranger, and an outdoor educator. I was proud to be part of a team where everyone had the same goals and values as me, where the staff actually cared about my future and me as a person. Working alongside ELK has made me realize that I truly love working in not just youth education, but in and for the outdoors. I can only hope to continue to provide the same opportunities I have received through ELK to my community, because it truly feels like home. I have never been so sure of knowing what path I want to take after high school than I do now. Thanks to ELK, I have not only a goal, but the resources I need to achieve that goal and so much more. ELK made it possible for me to pursue what seemed impossible as an immigrant who initially had no support system of this nature. Thank you so much, ELK. You truly are helping to build educators for the future, and I hope you understand the true impact you continue to make on this community.
About Environmental Learning for Kids: Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) is a local nonprofit that creates a sense of belonging, self-discovery, and adventure in the outdoors for underrepresented young people of color and their families, transforming youth into environmental stewards and trailblazers that promote equitable outdoor access, sustainable practices, and community uplift. Learn more at elkkkids.org.
About the Author: Jovanna Fierro is 17 years old and currently a senior at DSST: Elevate Northeast High School. In October, she will begin her second year with ELK. She was a 2024 ELK Urban Ranger and is currently interested in pursuing a career in outdoor education as well as land management.
